MICHAEL Owen will prove there is life for Liverpool without Robbie Fowler by aiming for his 100th goal for the Reds at Derby County tomorrow.

MICHAEL Owen will prove there is life for Liverpool without Robbie Fowler by aiming for his 100th goal for the Reds at Derby County tomorrow.

At the same time, Liverpool will be stepping up their efforts to bring highly talented Czech international Milan Baros to Anfield by formally applying for a work permit today.

Baros has not yet fulfilled the criteria needed, but the Reds believe they have a strong case because the youngster has played in all of his country's last six full internationals.

The Reds are concentrating not on the departure of Fowler but the world class ability of the trio left behind, not least the magnificent Owen.

He has been nominated for European Player of the Year and stands just three short of his ton of goals. He rejoins the squad after missing last week ' s win over Sunderland.

As Fowler today completed a deal which is worth #12m plus and not the much quoted Leeds' figure of #11m, assistant manager Phil Thompson insisted Liverpool will not be weakened by the departure of their former No 9.

Thompson said: "We are well equipped in the striking department. Michael has been in fantastic form all season. He has been banging in the goals. Emile Heskey has been superb as well, but it has been unfortunate for him that the goals haven't been flowing.

"I would say that the only difference between the players is the goals. I have to say Jari Litmanen's attitude has been exceptional in training and he is showing a great deal of professionalism.

"Michael is in the squad for tomorrow's game. He has been training all week and came through yesterday and today with no problems."

While much has been made of Fowler's position as the third choice striker, it should be

noted that Litmanen was preferred ahead of him by Gerard Houllier on the last two occasions before the manager took ill. These were the Tottenham and Kiev home games in which Litmanen scored the winner in both.

This encapsulates why Houllier was so willing to let Fowler go.

With Fowler gone Owen will be the new talisman of the Kop. His performances have been world class and while Fowler was a subject of bids of #12.5m which Liverpool accepted, Owen's value is #50m.

Liverpool's bid to sign a quality replacement for Fowler is backed up by their determination to also bring young Baros to Anfield as quickly as possible. Chief Executive Rick Parry said: "We will be submitting a work permit application today. We know that Baros does not yet meet the criteria, but we believe it's right to go through the processes.

"They have changed things recently to take the discretion away from the Civil Servants. Now it's up to a football panel to judge the merits of the case. We believe we have got a good case, bearing in mind that Baros has played in the Czech Republic's last six full games since he broke into the team."

The Czechs have not qualified for the World Cup where Baros would almost certainly have reached the required tally for a work permit. The Reds believe it would be an anomaly if they were forced to wait well beyond this before putting in an application.